Baby for My Stepbrother

Chapter 6

Pushing up from the wall, he grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the clothes rack. I was still in shock about what he’d said as he dragged me out of the store and said, “None of those clothes are for you. Let’s find something else.”

Trailing behind him through the crowded mall, I started to understand his instant protectiveness to Bean. No wonder he was suddenly so paternal …he felt like his own family had deserted him and he refused to do the same, regardless of whether Bean was intended or not.

My heart broke for Dane, but warmed up to him at the same time. Somewhere beneath that alpha exterior was a man who wanted to do the right thing because he didn’t want his child to feel the same pain he felt when his mother left him behind.

Dane dragged me into a men’s clothing store and asked, “How big do you think you’ll get?”

My mouth fell open, but I pulled myself together and ignored the fact that Dane was asking me to estimate how big of a house I’d become with this baby. “Men’s clothes?” I asked.

Stopping in the center of the sales floor he rocked back on his heels and said, “Yeah. I mean, they’re big enough to remain loose on you as you grow and they won’t make you look like you belong in a Better Homes and Gardens magazine. There’s no reason you should look like a walking Easter parade just because you’re having my kid.”

A smile tugged at my lips because I realized that Dane was trying to do what was right for me as well as what was right for Bean. It was a total one eighty for him, but I was quickly growing appreciative of this new side to him.

I grabbed his arm and swung him around to face me. Cupping his face with my hands, I pulled him down as I went up on tiptoes, locking my lips to his. I pulled away after a few seconds and took advantage of his silent moment of shock.

“Dane, I appreciate that you’re trying to do the right thing. In fact, I’m completely surprised by the change in your attitude towards me, but we don’t have to get clothing right this second. Why don’t we take this one step at a time and figure out what to do about clothes when I grow out of the ones I already have?”

His cheeks flamed with a gentle blush and I realized that Dane was a fish out of water. He had no idea what to do for Bean so he was rushing ahead, trying to do all the rights things at once because he wanted to make sure he did everything he could for both the baby and me. “Holy fuck.”

A familiar voice sounded, and Dane’s eyes narrowed in anger as he looked at the person standing behind me. I spun on my heel to find Jack and his best friend, Terry, gawking at Dane and me.

“You little fucking slut. You left me to have sex your fucking brother?” Jack laughed as Terry looked uncomfortable at his side. “No wonder that oversized jackass threw me out of his club. He wanted to keep your ass to himself…”

Dane moved around me, shoving me behind him as he wrapped his hand around Jack’s throat and pushed him back against a wall. Terry dodged out of the way, obviously smarter than Jack because he knew not to fuck with Dane.

People gasped around us as Dane’s fist landed squarely into Jack’s face, blood spewing out to the side as he continued to pummel my ex-boyfriend.

Looking at Terry, I said, “Well, don’t just stand there. Help me do something.”

I jumped in and grabbed Dane, quickly realizing that moving him was as easy as moving a mountain would be. Terry moved around to grab Jack and pull him away. Between the two of us, we were able to separate the men, but Dane shoved his arms out, knocking me to the ground.

I went down like a sack of rocks, crying out when my as shit the hard tile floor. I heard something snap in my wrist and immediately felt the sharp electric pain shoot up the nerves in my arm.

Jack fell as well, his face completely covered in blood. As Terry dragged Jack away from Dane, Dane spun to look down at me, his eyes rounding as soon as he saw me cradling my arm to my chest.

He was on his knees in front of me within seconds. “Holy shit, Luna. Are you okay?” “No,” I cried out. “I think my wrist is broken.”